TORONTO: The Canadian dollar was little changed against its U.S. counterpart on Monday as oil gave back some of its recent rally and domestic data showed factory sales undershooting analysts’ forecasts in November.

Canadian factory sales were flat in November from October as higher sales of motor vehicles and fabricated metals were offset by lower sales of chemicals and petroleum and coal products. Analysts had forecast a 0.5% increase.

The Bank of Canada is due to release at 10:30 a.m. ET (1500 GMT) its quarterly Business Outlook Survey which will show firms’ expectations for sales and inflation.

As Canadian inflation slows, the cost of essentials, such as food and rent, offers pointers as to whether it will return sustainably to the Bank of Canada’s 2% target, say economists, as those items are key drivers of inflation expectations.

The price of oil, one of Canada’s major exports, dipped but held near this year’s highs as easing COVID restrictions in China raised expectations for a demand recovery. U.S. crude prices were down 0.6% at $79.38 a barrel.

The Canadian dollar was trading nearly unchanged at 1.3393 to the greenback, or 74.67 U.S. cents, after moving in a range of 1.3353 to 1.3417.

It follows a 0.3% gain for the currency last week, its fourth straight week of gains, as investors grew optimistic about a sustained downturn in U.S. inflation.

Still, speculators have raised their bearish bets on the loonie to the highest since August 2020, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday.

As of Jan. 10, net short positions had increased to 30,955 contracts from 26,766 in the prior week.

The Canadian 10-year yield was down nearly one basis point at 2.890% after touching on Friday its lowest intraday level in nearly four weeks at 2.858%.